ISBN: 978-91-980487-4-2 First edition Graphic design: E&G Design Š Folke Bernadotte Academy 2014 No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without the written permission of the Folke Bernadotte Academy. Swedish material law is applied to this book. Printed by: XXX
The Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) is the Swedish government agency for peace, security and development, and has the overall mission to support international peace and crisis management operations. The FBA is part of Sweden’s contribution to international peace and security, and its efforts to improve the lives of people living in conditions of poverty and repression. The FBA recruits personnel for international peace operations led by the UN, EU and OSCE, and conducts training, research and policy analysis and development. Believing in partnerships, the FBA cooperates with a wide range of Swedish and international organisations. FBA’s dedicated and experienced staff is one of its most valuable assets in the challenging work for peace, security and development. The Folke Bernadotte Academy – in place of arms Through commitment, respect and expertise, we strive for the attainment of peace, security and development
IN COMMEMORATION OF FOLKE BERNADOTTE FOREWORD Sir Brian Urquhart, Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
8
ADDRESSES BY Axel Wernhoff, Consul General of Sweden in Jerusalem
12
Major-General Michael Finn, Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the UN Truce Supervision Organization
16
James W. Rawley, United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator and United Nations Resident Coordinator
21
Chris Gunness, UN Relief and Works Agency Spokesperson 27 Sven-Eric Sรถder, Director General of the Folke Bernadotte Academy
35
ON 17 SEPTEMBER 1948 count Folke Bernadotte was assassina-
ted in Jerusalem during his mission as UN Official Mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the 17th of September 2013, 65 years after his tragic death, the Consulate General of Sweden in Jerusalem arranged a ceremony in Jerusalem together with the Folke Bernadotte Academy to commemorate Bernadotte´s work to promote human dignity and peace. During the ceremony, speeches were given by high-ranking officials from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), the Consulate General of Sweden in Jerusalem and the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA). This commemorative publication features the speeches given in Jerusalem at the ceremony, as well as an introduction written by Sir Brian Urquhart, former staff aide to Count Folke Bernadotte and later UN Under-Secretary-General.
Foreword by SIR BRIAN URQUHART FORMER UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS AS A MEMBER of the Swedish royal family, Folke Bernadotte inherited a
life of privilege and distinction. In 1928, he married an American, Estelle Manville, and seemed likely to have a long and happy life. In 1940 Bernadotte joined the Swedish Army with special responsibility for the exchange of prisoners of war. In 1943 he became Vice-President of the Swedish Red Cross. In late February, 1945, when the defeat of Nazi Germany could only be a matter of time, Hitler issued a new and terrible threat - the extermination of all survivors of the concentration and forced labor camps in the Reich. The Swedish Government, in “the boldest and most successful act a Swedish Government had undertaken during the twentieth century,” organized and carried out the “White Buses” expedition to extract Scandinavian victims from Hitler’s concentration camps. Bernadotte was appointed as commander of this unique and risky operation. Bernadotte was to negotiate the release of Scandinavian victims with the Nazi authorities and to transport them in white buses to Sweden. He was extraordinarily successful in securing the cooperation of Heinrich Himmler, the SS and the Gestapo only a few days before Hitler committed suicide and the Nazi regime collapsed forever. As a result tens of thousands of prisoners were rescued and taken to freedom and safety in Sweden.
–
BERNADOTTE DID NOT survive his second international experience. In May
1948 neither the UN Security Council nor the General Assembly were able to stop the attempt of its Arab neighbors to invade the newest UN member, Israel. They therefore voted unanimously to install a Mediator
8
Tens of thousands of prisoners were rescued and taken to freedom and safety in Sweden in the “White Buses” expedition in 1945. for Palestine. The Mediator had even less power than the Security Council to deal with the invasion of Israel by six Arab armies. Bernadotte welcomed the difficulties and risks of his new assignment and, despite the warnings of Swedish friends and experts, was convinced of its importance and relevance. He had virtually no previous experience of Palestine and its problems. UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie appointed Ralph Bunche, a senior UN official and scholar, to assist Bernadotte in his new challenge and they met for the first time in Paris. Bunche was immediately impressed by Bernadotte’s affability, his knowledge of English, and his determination to get on with the job. “I think,” Bunche wrote, “we shall get on well, for he seems to be a man who will listen seriously to advice.” Bunche and the Mediator became instant friends and “an inseparable union.” It was a special irony that on September 17, a mechanical fault on his aircraft caused Bunche to be too late to accompany Bernadotte on his last and fatal drive in Jerusalem.
9
Three members of the Stern Gang (Lehi), including Yitzhak Yezernitsky, (later on Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel) and two others took the decision to assassinate Bernadotte. The assassins, who ambushed Berna dotte’s convoy in Jerusalem, also killed Colonel Andre Serot, a French UN observer, who had taken Bunche’s place when he was delayed. The Stern Gang had been violently opposed to the UN partition plan, to the truces and to the demilitarization of Jerusalem.
–
BERNADOTTE’S CONTACTS WITH Himmler during the White Buses opera-
tion became a useful argument for those who favored his murder, and after his death Himmler’s masseur, Felix Kersten and others developed increasingly libelous and self-serving accounts of Bernadotte’s actions, which friends and the Swedish authorities continue to challenge. Ralph Bunche became the UN Mediator after “my treasured friend” was murdered. He had no doubts about Count Folke Bernadotte, who “was utterly honest and fearless, completely independent in his thinking.” It is time to pay unreserved tribute to this outstanding servant of peace. Brian Urquhart
SIR BRIAN URQUHART is a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs, a veteran of World War II and a celebrated author. He served the United Nations for half a century, leading peace efforts throughout the world. Sir Brian is the author of both the most acclaimed biography of Dag Hammarskjöld and of Ralph Bunche, Count Bernadotte’s friend and successor, along with his own autobiography ‘A Life in Peace and War’.
10
Bernadotte welcomed the difficulties and risks of his new assignment.
11
Address by AXEL WERNHOFF, CONSUL GENERAL OF SWEDEN IN JERUSALEM
Excellencies, your grace, colleagues and dear friends, THANK YOU SO MUCH for attending this event hosted jointly by the Folke
Bernadotte Academy in Sweden and the Consulate General of Sweden in Jerusalem. I am indeed honored to see so many of you here today in commemoration of Count Folke Bernadotte. Today, exactly 65 years ago on 17 September 1948 - actually in about one hour, just after five o’clock in the afternoon - Count Bernadotte was tragically killed in Katamon by Jewish terrorists acknowledged to belong to the so-called Stern Gang. He was in Jerusalem as the first UN mediator, of many, in this still unresolved conflict. Count Bernadotte was the grandson of King Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway, and the godfather of the then Crown Prince Carl Gustaf, now King of Sweden. But it is not as a member of the Swedish royal family that Count Bernadotte should be remembered. With his death one of the great humanitarian actors of the 20th century was lost. He left a great legacy, which we who are here today will relate to one another and reflect upon.
–
HE IS PERHAPS most renowned for the rescue of concentration camp
victims in the spring of 1945 with the famous white painted buses, with their red crosses on the sides and roofs. He negotiated with the German
12
Nazi regime for the safe passage of many thousands of civilian camp prisoners from Germany to Sweden, and thus to life and freedom. Germany at the time treated prisoners of war much better than civilians. While POWs enjoyed protection under the third Geneva Convention, civilians did not. It is not that well known, but in 1948 Count Bernadotte, the same year he came to Jerusalem, initiated a convention for the protection of civilians in wartime. It was further negotiated that year at the XVII Conference of the Red Cross in Stockholm. It was ratified in Geneva in 1949 as the fourth Geneva Convention, one year after his death. I am convinced that the horror he witnessed in those camps played an important part in convincing him of the vulnerability of civilians in war.
–
BUT THE EXPERIENCES he gained there, when acting as a UN mediator,
resulted in contributions to the international community’s diplomatic ‘toolbox’. Out of a deep conviction that peace would not be achieved unless there was justice for the Palestinian refugees, he suggested in his first peace plan “the right of the residents of Palestine…to return to their homes without restriction and regain possession of their property”. There is a direct line between that sentence and UN resolution 194 of December of the same year, a resolution that is still a cornerstone in
”Any peace agreement must contain a fair, reasonable and just solution to the refugee problem” our approach to this conflict. Any peace agreement must contain a fair, reasonable and just solution to the refugee problem. Furthermore, when visiting a Palestinian refugee camp in Ramallah he was appalled at what he saw. He said: “I have made the acquaintance of a great many refugee camps; but never have I seen a more ghastly
13
sight than that which met my eyes here at Ramallah.” His work for the protection and relief of Palestinian refugees paved the way for the creation of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, in December 1949. And there was more; the truce he negotiated in June 1948 required supervision and was thus the embryonic United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, UNTSO, the very first UN peacekeeping mission.
–
SO THE ACTIVITIES of Count Bernadotte not only saved lives, but out of
what he did, based on what he saw needed to be done on the ground, there emerged an important diplomatic architecture: the fourth Geneva Convention, UN resolution 194, UNRWA and UNTSO. No mean feat. I would like to add that he also came to embody principles that are the cornerstones of Swedish foreign policy: mediation rather than arms, peacekeeping and peacemaking, civilian protection and relief and a strong conviction that international law and human rights should be the guiding principles in international relations and in resolving conflicts. And this was a man who was criticized for being naïve and unduly opti mistic! Perhaps a certain naivety and optimism is necessary to accomplish great things. Prudence and realism only get you so far.
–
COUNT BERNADOTTE WAS EVIDENTLY a man who confronted reality head
on, saw what needed to be done and then tried to do it. Like the Boy Scout, he was “always prepared!” His driving force was a strong religious ethos - the bible accompanied him - to be constructive in any situation, however hopeless. I believe this ethos also made him do things that sometimes seemed controversial. At the risk of being seen as pro-Nazi, he testified after the war in support of the Nazi Walter Schellenberg because negotiations with the Nazi leadership for the White Buses pro-
14
gram would have failed without his constructive participation. There is a great truth somewhere in this approach that we can all learn from.
–
BERNADOTTE CAME HERE in 1948 saying it was “now or never”. There I
believe he was wrong. Peace, of course, is always possible but the way to achieve it will differ over the course of time. Nevertheless, I hope that the parties of the recently restarted peace process (I calculate that this is the 12th since Count Bernadotte’s attempt 65 years ago) will take some heed from Count Bernadotte’s approach. Too much traditional political realism will not do the trick here. Thank you for your attention.
15
Address by MAJOR-GENERAL MICHAEL FINN, HEAD OF MISSION AND CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE UN TRUCE SUPERVISION ORGANIZATION
Your Excellency, Consul General of Sweden in Jerusalem, Mr Axel Wernhoff, Distinguished Director-General of the Folke Bernadotte Academy, Mr Sven-Eric Söder, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr James Rawley, UNRWA Director of Media, Mr Chris Gunness, Distinguished Representatives of the diplomatic community, Dear guests, United Nations colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, IT IS A PRIVILEGE for me to participate in the commemoration of Count
Folke Bernadotte and his work, and allow me to thank all involved in organizing this event. It is an honor to pay tribute to the person whose vision and actions laid the foundation for the work of the very first United Nations peacekeeping operation, and for all other missions established since then. The lives and tragic deaths of Count Bernadotte and United Nations Observer Colonel Andre Serot on this date 65 years ago will not be forgotten. Indeed, their ideals continue to guide and inspire the work of the UN Truce Supervision Organization and 15 other peacekeeping operations worldwide. Count Bernadotte was the first leader of what is UNTSO today, a mission that embodies, since 1948, the historical commitment of the Secu rity Council to a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Count Bernadotte’s UNTSO was and is the embodiment of a classical, yet effective model of Chapter VI peacekeeping: the deployment of unarmed military observers to verify the compliance of opposing parties with armistices (UNTSO), force disengagements (UN Disengagement
16
Observer Force), withdrawals (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) and ceasefires (UN Supervision Mission in Syria). Classical - yet currently in the Middle East, Western Sahara, Cyprus and elsewhere - unarmed military observers make for a lighter mission footprint, while their ability to objectively verify and report puts parties on notice against unprovoked aggression.
–
Ladies and Gentlemen, COUNT BERNADOTTE WAS aware that impartial military observation and
assistance is an enabling, yet temporary mechanism. The deployment of UN military, armed or unarmed, serves to shore up, and not replace a political process that should address the root causes of the conflict. In operational terms, the deployment of UN military observers befits a situation where opposing parties not only consent to, but also believe
�Count Bernadotte was aware that impartial military observation and assistance is an enabling, yet temporary mechanism.� that the UN has the means and expertise to effectively monitor cease-fires or withdrawals. Interposing an observer presence between parties that have just ceased hostilities is very much a trust-building exercise. Parties must know and be convinced that UN Observers are able to detect violations and determine responsibilities over vast and difficult terrain, at any time of the day or night, and by increasingly sophisticated means. It is also essential that members of the Security Council and other interested member states facilitate and insist on the consent of host countries and parties to the conflict, not only to enable the deployment of observers, but also to resist the imposition of any conditions or restric-
17
tions on the mandated activities of the UN once they are on the ground. However, in varying degrees of clarity, the Security Council defines the mandate of an observer operation, only in terms of what should be done, not how it should be done. The models and modes of operation, specific tasks and the resources to carry them out are not given - they must be determined and justified by the Secretary-General in order to achieve the envisioned result. In 1949 UN observers were deployed to verify and assist in the compliance by opposing nations with attendant cease-fires, report impartially to the international community, and defuse incidents so that they do not re-ignite widespread violence. Much has changed since then. In 1956, 1967, 1974, 1978, 2006 and 2012, the Security Council adopted further resolutions that required UNTSO, UNDOF, UNIFIL, and UNSMIS peacekeepers to observe cease-fires and assist parties (some of which are non-State actors) to live up to their commitments. Under all these Chapter VI resolutions: UN Military observers have an assisting, rather than a leading role. The leading role remains squarely with the opposing parties. Military observers cannot protect one party against another. However, when the perpetrator of aggression is a spoiler, UN observers can be instrumental in alleviating tensions between the parties, as it has done many times over the years.
–
IN THE MIDDLE EAST a range of current models, from an unarmed opera-
tion to one with substantial military force, is deployed to fit the political situation. Those operational models, with large and light footprints, are closely related to the concept of “robustness�, which aims at placing the
18
mission in a position sufficiently strong to control the situation if any challenge comes its way. However, an armed international presence of substantial size also removes from the parties a great deal of responsibility for ensuring ceasefire compliance and progress towards a final settlement. Determining the appropriate level of military response remains a difficult balancing act. Unarmed peacekeeping operations (like UNTSO and UNSMIS) cannot, by their very nature, use force to maintain the peace. Yet, unarmed observation can be robust. Political support is the yardstick to measure the “robustness” of UN Chapter VI peacekeeping – both armed and unarmed - in deterring threats to an existing peace process. Before reaching a point where the options are limited to a change in the mandate to either arm observers or to withdraw them, experience
”experience points to the need for early, continuous and robust political support” points to the need for early, continuous and robust political support directed at ensuring the consent of host countries and making provision for addressing any subsequent imposition of conditions or restrictions on the mandated activities. Finally, as I have stated previously, in operational terms the deployment of unarmed UN observers requires not only all-party consent, but such parties need to trust and have confidence that the UN has the means and expertise to effectively monitor cease-fires and peace agreements. Earning that trust can be a tall order. It requires observers to be ever more professional, more mobile, well equipped, and properly trained. In that regard, the UN is immensely grateful for the work of the Count Bernadotte Academy for its hugely relevant contribution to the training and work of peacekeepers, many of whom have benefited from
19
the high level training courses and effective operational methodologies it continues to develop and deliver. Ladies and Gentlemen, COUNT BERNADOTTE WAS COMMITTED to the resolution of the Arab-足Israeli
conflict. That commitment is an extraordinary example for all those that seek peace and are prepared to put their knowledge, energy and will towards achieving it, regardless of the risks, and regardless of the time that such an endeavour can take. Time has not erased his commitment, and time should not lessen ours. Thank you very much for your attention.
20
Address by JAMES W. RAWLEY, UNITED NATIONS DEPUTY SPECIAL COORDINATOR AND UNITED NATIONS RESIDENT COORDINATOR, on behalf of Robert Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
Your Excellency Swedish Consul General, Mr. Axel Wernhoff, Your Excellency Swedish Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Carl Magnus Nesser, Director-General of the Folke Bernadotte Academy, Mr. Sven Erik Soder, UNTSO Head of Mission and Chief of Staff, Major General Michael Finn, UNRWA Spokesperson, Mr. Chris Gunness, Distinguished Representatives of the diplomatic community and the Count Folke Bernadotte Academy, United Nations colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, IT IS A GREAT HONOR for me, and a humbling experience, to take part
in today’s commemoration of Count Folke Bernadotte, exactly 65 years since his assassination here in Jerusalem by a group of Israeli right-wing extremists. I wish to thank the co-hosts, the Swedish Consulate General and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, for arranging this important gathering and for granting me the privilege of taking part in this special event. I represent here today the UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr. Robert Serry, who is in New York to brief the Security Council, as well as UN staff who have been engaged in political, development and humanitarian work in the region for the past 65 years. In many ways, Count Bernadotte laid the stepping-stones for our work and we aspire to walk in the footsteps of his accomplishments. We draw inspiration from his life and tragic death and share the same hopes he had, namely to contribute to bringing peace to Israelis and Palesti-
21
nians, Arabs and Jews and help heal this war-torn Holy Land. We also remember on this day the French officer and United Nations Observer Colonel Andre Serot, who accompanied Count Bernadotte and was killed with him.
–
Ladies and Gentlemen, IT WAS FITTING that Count Bernadotte was the first ever UN mediator.
He was nominated by the General Assembly in accordance with Resolution 186 on 20 May 1948 to be the United Nations Mediator to Palestine. Count Bernadotte brought to the job a wealth of experience in mediation and a record of success in the most hazardous of times and circumstances. Indeed, Count Bernadotte’s work exemplified the attributes of the quint essential modern mediator: he was intelligent, unbiased, patient, com passionate, creative, brave, and determined - an international civil servant in the fullest and most positive sense. Count Bernadotte had previously made history before joining the UN. His success towards the end of the second world war in negotiating the release of thousands of prisoners from the Nazi regime, including more than a thousand Jews, is testimony to his courage and impeccable moral integrity. In the short time that he was on the ground in the Middle East - only four months - he recorded several important achievements, including taking part in negotiating a cease-fire in the fighting and presenting two detailed and thoughtful proposals to the parties on how they could resolve their dispute. It is in the context of our remembrance of the life and contributions of Count Bernadotte that I wish to share with you some reflections about UN efforts in the Middle East Peace Process. Count Bernadotte was motivated by a deep belief that a solution to the conflict in the form of two states is achievable. We share this belief, but
22
65 years after his assassination and 20 years after the signing of the Oslo agreements, to many people, this goal seems farther away than it has ever been. Indeed, many would argue that the one state is already a reality, or soon will become one. It is undeniable that the continuation of the status quo, and in particular the construction of settlements, is making the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, increasingly difficult to achieve. But notwithstanding the growing challenges to the two-state solution, the UN continues to strongly believe in this vision. This is why the Secretary-General came to Ramallah and Jerusalem just last month, to lend his personal encouragement to the current peace talks and to support steps to promote them. Our continued belief in the viability and necessity of a two-state solution reflects our view that there is no other alternative by which both Israelis and Palestinians can fulfill their legitimate national aspirations for self-determination and bring the conflict to an end. Our view is also buoyed by progress recorded on the ground in the last several years in terms of the Palestinian state-building agenda. Of course, we do not underestimate the efforts needed to reach a final status agreement. But as noted by the Secretary-General, we do believe that the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can make this momentous step forward if their leaders muster the requisite political will, and if they allow their peoples to see the benefits of peace. It would also make the leap to peace easier if both parties were to take incremental positive steps. We at the United Nations will continue to make every possible effort to help this process succeed.
–
FROM A ONE-MAN MEDIATOR with a small and very talented team, the UN
efforts on the Middle East Peace Process have evolved in many ways in the last 65 years. Here in Palestine we now constitute a United Nations Country Team comprising some 20 UN agencies working tirelessly on
23
the ground both in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, on a wide range of interdependent and mutually reinforcing humanitarian, development and political issues that touch upon every possible aspect of life of the Palestinian people, including the sizeable refugee population. A conviction we hold regards the centrality of development and its interaction with the political process. We now understand more than
�We now understand more than ever before the critical role of establishing viable institutions of governance� ever before the critical role of establishing viable institutions of governance and a solid economy that brings the benefits of development to all Palestinians. We also recognize that the well-being of Palestinians and Israelis is deeply interlinked. We hope that by fostering tangible improvements in security and prosperity for all parties, we also foster the realization in both peoples that peace is eminently in their interests. Needless to say, to ensure its sustainability and future strengthening, the state-building achievements of the Palestinian Authority have to be accompanied by tangible progress on the political track. Talks must provide a real prospect for these institutions to evolve into a viable state living side by side with Israel in peace and security. In our view, direct negotiations are the only way to reach this goal.
–
ANOTHER KEY ELEMENT in our approach is the importance of orchestra-
ting wide international support for the political process. An agreement will have to be based on strong international and regional foundations. Our efforts in this regard are undertaken most importantly through our work with the Quartet in which the United Nations plays an active role. We also engage continuously with international and especially Arab
24
partners. The support of the Arab League for the peace process and the Arab Peace Initiative are critical to cementing the foundations of a future peace agreement. Just imagine how the region might be transformed if a final status agreement is put in place and the Arab Peace initiative is implemented. These opportunities were not available during Count Bernadotte’s time, but they are on the table now and must be seized. However, there are also challenges today that had not yet materialized during Folke Bernadotte’s time. A major one is the Palestinian divide. A united Palestinian polity that abides by the PLO commitments is a necessity for a viable two-state solution. Violence in and around Gaza has declined lately but needs to come to a complete and durable halt. We strongly believe that humanitarian suffering in Gaza breeds further conflict. Achieving a legitimate and sustainable economy that builds on the resilience and impressive capacities of the people of Gaza will no doubt result in tangible improvements in their lives and bring new positive op portunities. As part of this, we should all push for steps such as further liberalizing the legitimate crossings that would expand the economy in Gaza. In recognition of the needs in Gaza and its importance for the peace effort, the United Nations leads humanitarian and development work with a massive $1bn portfolio of programming that includes the provision of basic services and food, infrastructure works, agricultural projects, awareness raising and capacity development. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Government and people of Sweden for their substantive, political and financial support for our work in Gaza and the West Bank.
–
Ladies and Gentlemen, WE MUST NOT allow the assassination of Count Bernadotte to overshadow
his inspiring life, which was so full of important achievements. Instead, we need to transform his memory into a motivator – a driver that strengthens
25
our resolve to work harder for peace and development and to strive to excel in our work even in the most difficult of times. In this context I was heartened to learn that the Government of Sweden has established a government agency named after Count Bernadotte, which trains professionals in the field of peace operations and is aimed at enhancing the quality and effectiveness of international conflict and crisis management. Many in UNSCO’s team have already benefited from the training provided by the prestigious Folke Bernadotte Academy, for which we are deeply grateful. This is a shining example of how the memory of Folke Bernadotte is serving to shape and inspire new generations to work for peace. Count Bernadotte’s work and his ultimate sacrifice were in the service of all humankind. We should look at this sacrifice as an event that can bring together and inspire all those who yearn for peace - Israelis, Palestinians and their international partners alike. Thank you.
26
Address by CHRIS GUNNESS, UN RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY SPOKESPERSON, on behalf of Filippo Grandi, the UNRWA Commissioner-General Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, ALLOW ME TO BEGIN with some words of apology and some of thanks.
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Filippo Grandi, sends his regrets at his not being able to attend this commemoration of a life that was, and is, so central to UNRWA’s contemporary mandate. We commemorate a man whose prescience and courage bequeathed to the refugees and the Agency that serves them a rich diplomatic and political framework – one that remains relevant today in more ways than many of us are allowed to annunciate. Indeed, despite the vagaries, injustices and cruelties of geopolitics, many of the concepts bestowed on us by Count Bernadotte remain the touchstone of those who approach the question of Palestine today and those who forge any attempt to deal with both the political and humanitarian aspects of resolving the plight of the Palestine refugees; but more of all that in a moment. Allow me to extend the Commissioner-General’s thanks to the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the Swedish Government for making this sixty-fifth anniversary event possible; in particular, to Axel Wernhoff, the Swedish Consul-General, and Sven-Eric Söder, the Director-General of the Folke Bernadotte Academy. Gentlemen, thank you. From the perspective of the United Nations, the Folke Bernadotte Academy remains a source of inspiration and principle. It is a rich repository, both in terms of its intellectual value to the international system and its vast contribution in human resources, sending into the world of diplomacy and peacemaking officials of the highest calibre. As for the Swedish Government, particularly our friends here in the Consulate, they remain
27
generous, creative, resourceful and imaginative supporters of UNRWA, allowing many of the ideas of Count Bernadotte to find practical expression, through our work today, in the lives of millions of refugees who make up some of the most marginalized and disadvantaged communities in our world. Truly, they are the dispossessed of the earth, people who are more dependent than at any time in their history on the structures and processes that were established and nurtured through the visionary work of Count Bernadotte.
–
Ladies and gentlemen, IT HAS BEEN BOTH heartening and revelatory to trawl back into the United
Nations archive and to shine a torch through the fog of more than six decades of Middle Eastern politics and look behind the layers of historical interpretation and misinterpretation that have come to colour, some might say “distort”, the understanding of Count Bernadotte, particularly in this region. It is interesting, for example, to see the letter dated 3 May 1949 to the President of the Security Council from the Representative of Israel, Aubrey or Abba Eban, who was later to become Foreign Minister, and was surely one of the most intellectually able and dignified that Israel has ever produced. Allow me to quote that letter, a covering note in which he transmits to the Council the Israeli report on the “assassination” of Count Bernadotte. Eban says: “I feel compelled to renew the expression of my Government’s profound sense of abhorrence of this brutal crime, which cost the life of a servant of the United Nations, who initiated the beneficent process of mediation and conciliation which is now showing such impressive results.” Despite some of the ambiguities and deliberate political historicizing around the assassination by some, at the very pinnacle of the Israeli hier archy, there was determination and resolve. Word of Count Bernadotte’s
28
death reached David Ben-Gurion while he was holding discussions with his military general staff at six in the evening, about an hour or so after the incident. Ben-Gurion’s reaction was typically decisive; some would say “self-serving”. According to his diary, orders were sent to the Military Police to arrest all the, I quote, “Lehi people”. And he dispatched a battalion of the Palmach to Jerusalem with the express orders to act, and I quote, “firmly and mercilessly”. Nonetheless, to this day, no one has ever been brought to justice for those brutal murders, in which the Count was shot six times and his French assistant no less than 17. Indeed, some of those suspected of masterminding the killing of the first UN mediator enjoyed immunity and went on to be venerated in the most senior echelons of Israeli public life; little wonder that their values and rejectionist attitudes towards the United Nations sadly are reinforced by repetitious nationalistic mythologizing. So one is hardly surprised that Ben-Gurion’s famous put-down, “Um Shmum”, or, to give it a rough translation, “the UN is nothing”, reverberates with such callous ease among some. If only those who use the phrase appreciated its tragic historical antecedents and its selective ignorance.
–
Ladies and gentlemen, IF COUNT BERNADOTTE’S assassination sent warning signals through the
nascent Israeli administration, the unprecedented killing of a serving UN mediator left the world body in shock and mourning. There was anger also amid the determination to continue with the Bernadotte legacy. The legendary UN statesman Ralph Bunche, who became the chief UN mediator after Count Bernadotte’s death, issued a statement on 27 September 1948, just ten days after the assassination, which contained a degree of honesty and clarity that one can hardly imagine today. Allow me to quote him: “The threats and ruthless violence of criminal terrorist bands in
29
Palestine will not be permitted to frustrate the determination of the United Nations to achieve a peaceful adjustment of the Palestine situation.” Ralph Bunche continues with his own views on the killing of Count Bernadotte and his assistant, Colonel Serot: “There was irony as well as tragedy in Jerusalem on that fateful day on September 17 when Jewish terrorists struck down those two gallant servants of peace. Just twenty-four hours before, Count Bernadotte had signed his report to the United Nations, which had accepted without question the existence of the State of Israel and which had strongly urged that the truce in Palestine must be promptly superseded by a permanent settlement. After the assault, the bodies of the two victims laid in state during the night in the very room of the Y.M.C.A. in Jerusalem in which the UN Special Commission on Palestine, which first put the endorsement of the United Nations on a Jewish state in Palestine, had held its opening meet ing.”
–
Ladies and gentlemen, IF THE EARLY REPORTS of the assassination of Count Bernadotte are re-
dolent with an honesty and integrity that are almost unimaginable today, so too are Count Bernadotte’s own pronouncements on the political prospects of the UN peace process and on the plight of Palestine refugees. These pronouncements would later set the parameters for the creation of UNRWA. With respect to the refugee issue, Bernadotte was bold and principled. Here I quote his first general report to the Secretary-General. Sadly, the Count would not live to see his words inform the international discourse; he was killed they day before it was published on 18 September. Tellingly, this is what he had to say: ”It is undeniable that no settlement can be just and complete if re-
30
cognition is not accorded to the right of the Arab refugee to return to the home from which he has been dislodged by the hazards and strategy of the armed conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. The majority of these refugees have come from territory which ... was to be included in the Jewish State. The exodus of Palestinian Arabs resulted from panic created by fighting in their communities, by rumours concerning real or alleged acts of terrorism, or expulsion. It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes, while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees, who have been rooted in the land for centuries.”
”It speaks volumes about Count Bernadotte’s humanity that for him, the right of return was no panacea in and of itself” It speaks volumes about Count Bernadotte’s humanity that for him, the right of return was no panacea in and of itself. Justice for this dispossessed population would need remedies beyond that one mere right. He continues in that posthumously published 1948 report: “It must NOT be supposed, however, that the establishment of the right of refugees to return to their former homes provides a solution of the problem. The vast majority of the refugees may no longer have homes to return to and their resettlement in the State of Israel presents an economic and social problem of special complexity. Whether the refugees are resettled in the State of Israel or in one or other of the Arab States, a major question to be faced is that of placing them in an environment in which they can find employment and the means of livelihood. But in any case their unconditional right to make a free choice should be fully respected.” In those words, you can already hear the mandate of UNRWA beginning to take shape, as well as one of the key messages underlying our protection work: that the refugees’ unconditional right to make a free
31
choice about their future must be fully respected. The report outlines with heartbreaking detail the situation of the refugees, nearly a quarter of whom Bernadotte says “are simply camped out and living under trees. In most places there was absolutely no sanitary accommodation, and since water was drawn from surface collections, and typhoid was endemic, grave possibilities in this regard at this season of the year were likely”. In that first report to the Secretary-General, the short and long-term needs of the refugees are summed up with urgency, compassion and authority. The manner in which Bernadotte drew together the resources of the fledgling UN agencies is magisterial. It is an object lesson in human itarian coordination. The breadth and depth of that report and Count Bernadotte’s grasp of the issues that would soon inform the creation of UNRWA reveal a man of extraordinary humanity, a man of compassionate intelligence and vision. He concludes that section of the report on refugees with words that have echoed through the decades and rightly should haunt us today: “The situation of the majority of these hapless refugees is already tragic, and to prevent them from being overwhelmed by further disaster and to make possible their ultimate rehabilitation, it is my earnest hope that the international community will give all necessary support to make the measures I have outlined fully effective. I believe that for the international community to accept its share of responsibility for the refugees of Palestine is one of the minimum conditions for the success of its efforts to bring peace to that land.”
–
Ladies and gentlemen, I FERVENTLY HOPE that the peacemakers of today are listening, because
65 years after his death, Count Bernadotte’s vision and his prophetic warnings remain as tragically relevant today as they did before his unti-
32
mely departure. Many of the underlying assumptions of specific UNRWA interventions – particularly our rights-based protection work -- find their first expression in Count Bernadotte’s early reporting to United Nations headquarters. The links we make today between satisfying humanitarian need and creating an environment in which peace can take hold, were first given voice by him. And in UNRWA’s repeated calls for a just and dura-
”And in UNRWA’s repeated calls for a just and durable solution for the refugees - a voice sadly crying in the wilderness” ble solution for the refugees - a voice sadly crying in the wilderness - we hearken back to Count Bernadotte who annunciated this truth that dare not speak its name with such boldness, a boldness that may, ultimately, have cost him his life. But the legacy of those arguments lives on; indeed, allow me to take Count Bernadotte’s rationale to its contemporary conclusion: The Middle East will remain inherently unstable while millions of refugees are allowed to languish, many in inhumane conditions in decaying camps, with little prospect of a political resolution of their plight; indeed there can be no peace in this region unless and until some five million Palestine refugees are brought out of their statelessness, dispossession and exile. Without that, this region is doomed to a future of insecurity and instability. Moreover, the dignity and humanity of all of us is diminished, while the Palestine refugees are deprived of theirs. For those conclusions, for that legacy, we all owe Count Bernadotte a profound debt of gratitude.
–
And so, ladies and gentlemen, ALLOW ME TO CONCLUDE where I began, with thanks to Sweden. And as
a quick aside, let me say that this thanks is solidly grounded. Since 2000,
33
Swedish contributions to UNRWA have totaled a staggering US$ 495 million; that’s nearly half a billion dollars in just 13 years. But this relationship between Sweden and UNRWA is about far more than money. It is also about shared values, a common humanity that has its roots in the life and work of Count Bernadotte. He may be a national treasure in Sweden, but believe me, ladies and gentlemen, in UNRWA also, his memory is likewise treasured. The values he brought, as a Swedish statesman of high humanitarian principle, defined - and continue to define - our partnership with the Government of Sweden and Swedish institutions. Count Bernadotte placed humanitarian compassion and the plight of the refugees at the centre of all we do. As a military man with finely tuned diplomatic instincts, he was keenly aware of the contribution that human development could make in situations of instability and desperation. And he never lost sight of the primacy of fundamental rights, including political and economic rights, in the search for a just and durable peace.
–
AND SO I END with the words of Ralph Bunche, from that statement of 27
September 1948 that I quoted earlier, in which he paid tribute to the lasting legacy of the inspirational leader he had just lost. Bunche concluded, as do I: “I am certain that I express the views of all when I say that our continuing tribute to Count Bernadotte is to do our utmost to carry on the work for which he laid down his life. We have lost an irreplaceable leader, a man of greatest good will, but his inspiration remains with us.” Thank you.
34
Address by SVEN-ERIC SÖDER, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE FOLKE BERNADOTTE ACADEMY
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE to see all of you here today to commemorate
Count Folke Bernadotte and his pioneering legacy of mediation, peace work, and – to use a current term – protection of civilians. For me, personally, it is fantastic to see many old friends. It reminds me of the past when I had the privilege of working together with many of you – Israelis and Palestinians alike – with the intention of making life a little better for ordinary people in this historic and beautiful, but also conflict–ridden, part of the world. Dear friends, COUNT FOLKE BERNADOTTE, who has lent his splendid name to the insti
tution that I have the honor to lead – was, as we have learned today, a cavalry officer by profession. He left active service in his mid-thirties, marrying the daughter – Estelle Manville – of an American billionaire and started to raise a family in Stockholm. It is also worth noting that Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel have named their first born daughter, Estelle. After Count Bernadotte´s career as a businessman he decided to focus on charity in the wider sense. First, in Voluntary Defence, then the Swedish Boy Scouts, followed by the Swedish Swim Promotion Society, and finally and best known, the Swedish Red Cross, which became his new field. At the end of the second world war – as we have learned from the
35
film – he led the White Buses Operation. Under conditions of the utmost difficulty this operation succeeded in rescuing thousands of prisoners from German concentration camps – including several thousand Jews. These people were given the opportunity of starting a new life in Scandinavia. Survivors of the death camps have contributed much to our societies and also enlightened our lives in sharing their experiences. There are many of us who have direct or indirect relations with people who were rescued by the White Buses under Count Bernadotte´s leadership. It was one such White Bus that brought the well known Swedish (and in many ways outstanding) journalist Cordelia Edvardsson to Sweden. Cordelia also lived here in Jerusalem. I shall never forget the time when I had the opportunity of discussing in her tiny kitchen the situation here in the region. Another destiny was also decided by the White Buses. Rosa was her name, and she was the mother of a friend of mine – a former Swedish cabinet minister. She survived the Nazis thanks to those White Buses. She was in the ghetto of Lodz for four long years before being deported to Auschwitz. Towards the end of the war the German war machine needed more workers in its weapons factories and she was among the many transferred to the Krupp factory in Berlin. That was before she ended up in Ravensbrück concentration camp. In the spring of 1945 she was liberated from that infamous place by the White Buses. She was among the lucky ones and arrived in the southern town of Helsingborg in Sweden, her new home country. Her weight was a mere 27 kilos – but she was saved. Please forgive me if I have been somewhat personal, but I wanted to share with you my sentiments and underline the importance of the White Buses. The White Buses Operation was not only important for the survivors, but had a significant impact on Swedish society and Swedish people
36
in general for decades to come. The White Buses Operation taught us solidarity and the fact that solidarity and human rights have no boundaries. That is what Folke Bernadotte taught us.
–
AFTER THE WAR, Bernadotte was unanimously chosen by the UN to be its
first ever mediator. He also became the first Swede to fall in the service of peace. He met the same destiny as Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the UN between 1953 until his sudden death in a plane crash in 1961. Both these extraordinary Swedes are rightfully honored with busts in the UN Headquarters building in New York.
–
“I really loved him. He was the greatest man I ever met”. THOSE WORDS BY Ralph Bunche are often quoted. Bunche was
Bernadotte´s closest associate and became his successor. Ralph Bunche continued the work of Folke Bernadotte and negotiated the armistice treaty of 1949. For this extraordinary achievement he was awarded the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize. And though those words were written some years after the death of Folke Bernadotte, the message is nevertheless important. They express the
”individuals do not just count, they can also make significant difference” great truth that individuals not only count, but that they can also make a significant difference. Folke Bernadotte was a man who made a difference. He personally and simultaneously made use of three important instruments for Peace - three instruments, or tools, that the United Nations have been using ever since.
37
First, in using the instrument of Negotiation and Mediation. Second, in employing the instrument of Peacekeeping in an embryonic form by the introduction of military observers of UNTSO. Finally, in applying the instrument of Relief and Recovery by, in real terms, initiating UNWRA (UN Works and Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees). These achievements, with their lasting effects, accord Folke Bernadotte a central place in the history of our collective efforts to build peace. Though he died sixty-five years ago, he was what we would call an utterly “modern thinker” in bringing forward a comprehensive/ multifunctional approach to peace, security and development. In all of our work, the Folke Bernadotte Academy tries to honor this inspirational and multifunctional personality and his legacy. We not only build on the proud tradition of Folke Bernadotte, but also on the many lessons learned and the best practices derived from both the successful and the more or less flawed peace operations. Many critical experiences have been gained at a high price - for example, in Rwanda, Somalia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In order to render Sweden’s contribution to international peace and security more efficient and relevant, the Government has assigned the Academy to the following: • to promote and strengthen international cooperation on peace, security and development • train and support civilian, military and police personnel • recruit and deploy civilian staff to peace and crisis management operations • develop and disseminate doctrines, policies and methods based upon research and development • support civil society peace, disarmament and development initiatives Today the Academy has some 80 seconded personnel to EU, UN and OCSE-missions in 15 countries.
38
In this region we have seconded colleagues to EU POL COPPS in Ramallah, TIPH in Hebron and OQR in Jerusalem. That is who we are and that is what we do – working in the spirit of Sweden’s first and foremost personality within the UN’s practical fieldwork.
–
IN 1948 FOLKE BERNADOTTE published a book with the Swedish title “I
stället för vapen”, and a direct translation into English would be “Instead of Arms”. The Academy recently adopted the motto “Instead of Arms” to represent its vision through a creative process that actively involves all personnel. The wording “Instead of Arms” is founded on his experience of the second world war and on the pain and horror suffered by millions of innocent people. The book ends in a visionary and compassionate reasoning of the rationale of allowing good will between nations to come before the use of arms. Little did he know that the thoughts he expressed and the initiatives he took as a UN mediator would pave the way for one of the most important and widely used instruments for making, keeping, enforcing and building peace - the international peace operation. Today there are more operations than ever before. They are in many cases the last resort of the international community and the undisputable difference between the devastation of war and fragile peace.
–
Dear friends, LET ME CONCLUDE by conveying to you a message from the two sons of
Folke Bernadotte. It is this: We wish to present our profound greetings to you, the participants of this commemoration of our father, Count Folke Bernadotte, for his great
39
work in saving Holocaust victims with the aid of the White Buses and for sparing no effort in trying to achieve peace in the Middle East. Memorable are the words of Shimon Peres in 1995 in Tel Aviv, cele brating the 50th anniversary of the White Buses, when he denounced every kind of terrorism and declared “our vigorous condemnation of the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte”. He furthermore said that the most important thing was, “Not to forget but to forgive”. Keeping the memory of Count Folke Bernadotte alive means supporting the continuing efforts to bring peace between Israel, Palestine and its neighbouring states. We uphold these efforts wholeheartedly and wish you all every success. Folke and Bertil Bernadotte Thank you!
40
CHRIS GUNNESS UN Relief and Works Agency Spokesperson
AXEL WERNHOFF Consul General of Sweden in Jerusalem
SVEN-ERIC SĂ–DER Director General of the Folke Bernadotte Academy
SIR BRIAN URQUHART former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
JAMES W. RAWLEY United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator and United Nations Resident Coordinator
MAJOR-GENERAL MICHAEL FINN Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the UN Truce Supervision Organization
COUNT FOLKE BERNADOTTE’S INTENSIVE EFFORTS to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were to cost him his life. On 17 September 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte was assassinated in Jerusalem during his mission as UN Official Mediator in the region. Three years prior to his death, as Vice-Chairman of the Swedish Red Cross, Bernadotte led the White Buses mission through which thousands of people were rescued from Nazi concentration camps. This commemorative publication features speeches given during a ceremony in Jerusalem on September 17 2013, to pay tribute to Count Folke Bernadotte and his work to promote human dignity and peace 65 years after his death. The ceremony was arranged by the Consulate General of Sweden in Jerusalem together with the Folke Bernadotte Academy. Speeches were held by Major-General Michael Finn, Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the UN Truce Supervision Organization; Mr. James W. Rawley, UN Deputy Special Coordinator and UN Resident Coordinator; Mr. Chris Gunness, UN Relief and Works Agency Spokesperson; Mr. Axel Wernhoff, Consul General of Sweden in Jerusalem, and Mr. Sven-Eric SÜder, Director-General for the Folke Bernadotte Academy. The introduction is written by Sir Brian Urquhart, former UN Under-Secretary-General.